You Found Me
by Don'tDoubtTheJAM
Summary: He found her, but he doesn't know what to do anymore.
1. Chapter 1

It hurt. It hurt when she had slapped him, when she had yelled and screamed at him, it hurt when she looked at him with tears in her eyes, but had recoiled at the last second, right before his hand was able to make direct contact with her tear-stained, tanned face. What hadn't hurt was the failed attempts at kicks and punches, just that slap and all the words that you wouldn't, couldn't, imagine ever, ever coming out of Kelly Kapowski's mouth.

He hadn't even realized that he was crying or talking or even breathing until he heard himself ask her in a voice that eerily reminded him of the five-year olds that was currently _not here._

The voice he'd use when he didn't understand something, when he'd crawl on top of his lap and ask "Daddy, what's that mean?"

Zack hadn't realized that he had just used _that_ voice on _this_ question, but he had. "Why are you leaving?" he asked again, now with a slightly more raspy, horse tone as he slowly peeled his eyes away from the hall wall and directed them onto Kelly, the woman who was standing in front of him, telling him she was leaving, the one who was _crying_ and who was _upset_ and who was _confused._

"Zack…" she trailed off but broke down into another fit of sobs.

"No." he cleared his throat, making his voice more firm this time. "No." he repeated, his eyes locking with her bright, glistening blue ones. "No, you don't get to be angry, you don't get to be upset or sad or confused. "That's my job, that's what I get to do, you want to know why?" his voice was rising and hardening but it was getting harder and harder to breathe and yell and keep from getting down on his hands and knees and begging. "You don't get to do that stuff because I'm not the one leaving, I'm not the one leaving behind a family and a house and a life, a history, memories of something that was supposed to be forever and not something you gave up on after years and years of marriage, a marriage that has held so many memories in it self for so long and now you're going to just leave it all behind, a husband, three kids, a life and house and just for what Kel? Someone else? Someone better? Huh, what is it that is doing this to you? Why are you leaving me?" he took a deep, shaky breath before he looked back into her eyes and finally broke down.

"Zack." She put her hands on his chest, but he shook them off.

"Don't touch me, don't you dare touch me!" something inn his voice told her not to push it, especially not after **that.**

"Zack, I'm not leaving _you_, I'm leaving this, Parasades, California, what I've known, what I've always known."

"Why?"

"Because I need more than this and I know it's not easy, it's not easy for me either."

"Then don't leave, stay, we'll work it out, together, where ever you want to go, I'll follow, just don't go, don't leave me."

"Zack, I have to, I need to go."

"Bu…"

"No I, (sniffle) need (sniffle) to."

And with that, she picked up her last suitcase and walked out the door, with one last glance over her shoulder and a fleeting twitch of the corners of her mouth and then climbed into her Blue Yaris and drove away.


	2. Chapter 2

That conversation had occurred three years, five months, and eight days ago. And through all of this time, Zack had not once stopped thinking about it since then. All the things he'd had to do, what with the divorce, telling the kids and family and his friends and ultimately getting his life back together. He didn't move or change jobs or sell his car or any of that, he just kept going. He loved all that stuff, but he also loved Kelly and even though part of him knew he needed to move on, the other half just _wouldn't _let it go, _couldn't _let it go. And no, he didn't have some big, emotional intervention or start going to church or seeing a counselor, he just sucked it up and remembered the good things about that past life, but with this common bravery of his _always, always_ came the thought that he could somehow find her and shake her and make her come back to him and they would pick up where they left off all those years ago. But he couldn't do that, no matter what, he knew that that was NOT going to happen and that thought was what did him in. He had to call, to make sure that she hadn't been ten digits away from him for three years. So he picked up the phone in his bedroom and with a trembling hand, unfolded the crumpled piece of paper with the last phone number that he had that had at least at one time been hers. He slowly, deliberately pressed in the numbers on the front of the cordless phone and slowly raised it to his ear. He briefly glanced at the clock, 7:09 pm, not too late but late none the less.

"Hello?" rang a deep, gentle voice.

"Hi, uhhh, look I know this is a little weird, but is there a Kelly Mor- uhhh, Kapowski there, it's an, uhhh, old friend."

"Yah, yah no problem. Hold on a sec, let me get her."

"Thanks."

At that exact moment, the reality of what he was about to do hit him full force and that thought was one of the scariest to _ever _pass through his mind.

_Oh god, what the hell am I doing? I can't talk to her! Not after all this time, not after all that had happened! I can't just pick up the phone and call her after over three years have gone by! I don't even know what I'm going to say, what if she's still mad at me, what if-_

"_Hello?" _

"_Hey Kel, been awhile huh?" he stuttered out in a nervous breath._

"_Zack." she breathed out his name, sounding to be nowhere as startled as he was expecting._

"_I need to say some stuff. Got a sec?"_


End file.
